Cabinet Office

Civil Service update

Jeremy Quin: I am pleased to update the House on ‘Civil Service Live’, the Government’s annual, cross-department series of training events to improve the skills available to public servants. These conferences give civil servants professional development opportunities to meet, learn from each other and share that learning across the civil service.The threefold aim of Civil Service Live is to ‘educate, engage, and empower’ staff in order that they can better support the Government’s work to deliver services for communities across the UK, for instance by sharing innovative ways of working, learning new skills including in the use of data and developing digital public services or developing a better understanding of the way in which the system of government functions. We work with the Scottish Government and Welsh Government on these events.Having begun on 7 June in Newcastle, Civil Service Live events have taken place or are due to take place across the United Kingdom. Over 5,000 officials of all kinds who work for the Government have gathered in dedicated events in Newcastle on 7 June, Glasgow on 15 June, in Belfast on 22 June, and in Exeter yesterday.This year’s programme of events will conclude with sessions in Manchester on 11 July, Cardiff on 13 July, and London on 18 and 19 July.By the time all the sessions are concluded, I expect that as many as 20,000 civil servants will have taken part. We believe it is one of the largest learning events in Europe. As part of the evaluation measures we use, over 80% of attendees to date have said that they will do something differently with the information they have gained at the event, making a tangible difference to how our civil servants deliver public services.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Holocaust Memorial Forecast Cost

Felicity Buchan: On 23 February the Holocaust Memorial Bill had its First Reading in the House of Commons. Subject to Parliament’s approval of the Bill, and subject also to the granting of planning consent, the government will proceed to construct a fitting Memorial to the 6 million Jewish men, women and children murdered in the Holocaust and all other victims of the Nazis and their collaborators.Ahead of Second Reading of the Bill I wish to update the House on the forecast costs for completion of the proposed Holocaust Memorial. Delays to the programme arising from the High Court challenge, together with the effects of construction price inflation, mean that forecast costs have increased since the estimates made in July 2021. Our current estimate of total costs to completion (excluding contingency) is set out in the table below. We expect that charitable donations will cover at least £25 million of these costs.The Memorial at Victoria Tower Gardens will help the whole nation to reflect on the importance of the Holocaust and the lessons it holds for us today. Spend and forecast (excluding contingency)  Previous Forecast Current Forecast  Mar-22Mar-23Figures in £m incl. VAT.  Numbers may not sum due to rounding. Forecast1  Forecast2 Client3 9.6  14.3 Design4 11.2  11.9 Exhibition and Content Development5 14.8  15.9 Construction6 62.3  91.3 Mobilisation7 3.6  4.0 Planning Inquiry 1.4  1.4 Grand Total 102.9  138.8  Notes1 March 2022 forecast as published by the NAO in their report “Investigation into the management of the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre Report” dated 5 July 2022.2 Includes the inflationary impact of delays using the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) November 2022 CPI forecast (except for the construction and exhibition elements against which sector specific inflation estimates have been applied as advised by the programme’s consultants).3 Programme team and other programme costs: staff and contractors, rent, business case development, fundraising research, digital storage, communications, legal advice, community engagement, early programme expenditure (technical scoping reports, design competition). The key driver of the cost change is staff costs, primarily resulting from programme delays.4 Up to FBC the key drivers of cost changes were refinement of plans and the costs of the planning Inquiry. Since FBC the key driver is inflation followed by additional expenditure related to changing external cost managers.5 Exhibition design and fit-out costs advised by cost consultants Greenway Associates and based at Q3 2022 prices. Inflation on exhibition delivery costs at an average 4.8% per annum has been applied based on BCIS (Building Cost Information Service) indices. Cost changes are a result of refinement of approach and inflationary impact of delays.6 Costs are based on Q1 2022 prices; inflation based on AECOM Q4 2022 inflation indices (2022: 9%, 2023: 6.4%, 2024: 4%). Construction costs have increased primarily due to inflation resulting from both higher than envisaged construction inflation at OBC and FBC as well as delays to the programme.7 Forecast of operation set-up costs: facilities management, security, staff/contractors, furniture, fixtures and equipment costs in year before opening. Increases are primarily due to refinements in forecasts at FBC stage, increased by inflation due to delays.

Ministry of Defence

Contingent Liability for the Armed Forces Personal Accident Insurance Scheme

Dr Andrew Murrison: I have today today Laid a Departmental Minute to advise that the Department has entered into an agreement with its subcontracted personal accident insurer to enable continuation of personal accident insurance cover for around 60,000 policyholders before the expiry of the existing arrangement on 31 May 2023. This has ensured that our Armed Forces and civil servants deployed on operations continue to be able to take out personal accident insurance at reasonable premiums under the Personal Accident & Optional Life & Critical Illness Insurance Scheme (PAL Protect).There have been times when Service personnel have experienced difficulty in obtaining commercial personal accident or life insurance cover similar to that available to the general public due to the nature of their employment and the war risks associated with conflict situations. In keeping with the Armed Forces Covenant, the Ministry of Defence is committed to ensuring that Service personnel are not disadvantaged in their ability to access privately arranged personal accident and life insurance due to their employment. That is why this contract is so important; to make sure that our people have that option available to them.The contingent liability would be for those injuries resulting from war or terrorism which are beyond the scheme provider’s contractual responsibilities. The PAL Protect Scheme will ensure that Government intervention is minimised to only addressing the specific gaps in market cover arising from the potential large-scale risks resulting from war or terrorism. The contingent liability will be required for the duration of the contract.Departmental Minute  (pdf, 62.5KB)

Contingent Liabilities for the Astute Replacement Programme

Mr Ben Wallace: I am today laying a Departmental Minute to advise that the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has received approval from His Majesty’s Treasury to recognise new contingent liabilities associated with the Detailed Design and Long Lead Items contract with BAE Systems for the Ship Submersible Nuclear AUKUS (known as “SSN-A”).The Departmental Minute describes the contingent liabilities that the MOD will hold as part of the SSN-A programme. Negotiations are ongoing and the contingent liabilities will come into force on signature of the contract.Our key industry partner for submarine construction, BAE Systems (BAES), has requested indemnities in addition to those set out within pre-approved Defence Contractual Conditions to provide financial provision should the MOD decide to terminate the Detailed Design and Long Lead items contract or not award a follow-on contract with BAES. Both scenarios are highly remote as they would adversely impact support to the Continuous At Sea Deterrent, a top Defence strategic priority.Departmental Minute (pdf, 81.6KB)

Department of Health and Social Care

Improving safety in mental health inpatient services

Steve Barclay: I refer honourable members to the oral statement I will make in the House today, 28 June 2023, on improving safety in mental health inpatient services.

Department for Education

Local Government Pension Scheme Academy Guarantee extension

Nick Gibb: The Department for Education have extended the Local Government Pension Scheme Academy Guarantee to include Academy Trust outsourced contracts (e.g. outsourced catering services).This extension will help Academy Trusts by reducing the costs of their outsourced contracts (e.g. lowering set up costs, simplifying administrative processes, and removing the requirement for a bond).Detailed guidance on the extension has been published: DfE local government pension scheme guarantee for academy trusts: pensions policy for outsourcing arrangements - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)